The Love I Need
by myboygeorge
Summary: Everyone knows when Jackie and Hyde first hooked up. But when did they become lovers? Set as an extension of Season 5's 'Over the Hills and Far Away'. Each chapter title is a lyrics from the Led Zeppelin song that also serves as the episode's title.
1. Many Times I've Listened

Jackie stalked into the Formans' basement, went to the freezer to get an orange popsicle in hopes that the sugar would relieve some of the buzzing in her head. At the very least it would give her hands something to do for the inevitable argument that would come with Steven storming in behind her over what she said in the driveway. She figured it would take him about fifteen seconds to catch up to her and let her have it.

With her back still turned as she tried to open the popsicle wrapper, she heard him storm into the room and slam the basement door. "Good to know?" he fumed. "That's it? That's all I get after the way you sounded off on me before I left?"

"Sucks, doesn't it?"

Hyde let out a sound that was somewhere between a a scream and a screech. "Damn it, Jackie, I can't- I jus-what...what the hell are you tryin' to do to me?"

"I'm only giving you a taste of your own medicine, Steven. How does it feel to have someone you care about and you _hope_ you can trust treat you with such blank coldness?"

"You think I treat you with coldness?"

"No I don't, which is why I didn't understand what that whole display on Friday was about." Jackie gave up trying to unwrap her popsicle and just leaned against the freezer. "It's been a long time since I was actually this open with a guy."

"Bullshit, you were open with Kelso about every damn thing that went through your head."

At this, Jackie snorted. "Yeah, right, like I'd share really personal things with him. He barely even knew me, since he was always cheating on me with sluts like Laurie and Pam Macy. There was no way I'd trust him with the really personal stuff, like about my grades or my parents or anything."

Hyde took a deep breath as the true meaning of her words began to sink in. She'd shared genuine worries of hers with him, not Kelso, meaning there was a much higher level of trust she'd put in him. He doubted if she'd ever shared those thoughts with anyone other than him. And him, being such a guarded individual by circumstance - letting people in meant there was a risk of being let down by them - had barely given her any outward sign that he'd had no intention of hooking up with any other woman that weekend he was away. Dragging his hands over his face, he muttered, "Okay. Okay."

Crossing to her, he pulled her into an embrace that was more comforting than romantic. Hyde could feel the tense muscles in her back and realized there was something else that was troubling her. "What else?"

"What do you mean?" When Hyde simply pulled back and arched an eyebrow at her, Jackie relented. "I guess I was also a little worried that since you and I haven't...you know, yet, you'd be getting a little antsy to...set your swimmers free in a public pool before coming home to me."

"Ah." And there it was, Hyde realized, the ultimate miscommunication in their relationship. Where she'd interpreted the lack of actual sex in their relationship as him not really being interested in banging her like a hammer on a nail, he'd seen it as an imperative need to take the physical stuff slowly now that they were in a real relationship. While neither of them were lily-white virgins, Hyde knew that his experience with sex was much more...extensive, for lack of a better word, than Jackie's. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, both physically and emotionally; he'd seen the way she'd written Kelso off afterwards and be damned if he'd let that happen between them.

Tracing his fingers lightly over her back, he nibbled at her earlobe and whispered, "I can safely say that I didn't do any swimming this weekend. In fact, I was thinking of you when I was...treading water in the shower in the morning."

"That's so hot." Jackie pressed her lips to the sweet, weak spot she knew he had right under his jaw and felt a shiver of satistfaction when she felt his body tense against hers. "Listen, I was thinking, maybe I could...stay over this Friday night and we could have some time together...you know?"

"I'll keep the beer cold and the music hot."


	2. Darlin', You Got So Much

By the time Friday rolled around, Jackie was so nervous, she could barely put on her lipliner without drawing zigzags. She was going over to a boy's house with the express purpose of having sex. With Michael there'd always been some kind of cover-up exucse like watching TV, listening to music, even going for a drive to the water tower, but this was different. There was no curtain of excuse, the invitation was to go to her boyfriend's house and use his body like a hippity-hop of lust. She'd even gotten Donna to cover for her and say that since Bob and Midge were out of town (true) Donna wanted the company so the house wouldn't be so empty (false). It had been embarassing enough to tell Donna that she and Hyde weren't doing the mattress mambo and yet Donna had been surprisingly understanding of the situation. She'd even been supportive enough to suggest that there was always the possibility that the gang would be there in the basement when she got there, with very little idea as to the real reason she'd be there, so she'd feel less embarassed.

She knew there was no such luck when she went into the basement and saw it empty save for Hyde on the couch, in his jeans and that surprisingly soft black cotton Indian-style shirt. He'd left his sunglasses and boots off and was watching some kind of sporting event on the television. He glanced over when he heard the door open and did a genuine double take when he saw her.

"Damn," was all he could manage. She'd chosen something very soft and girlly looking - a long green and pinky floral tunic with slim jeans. She'd put her hair up to show off the graceful length of her neck and as he approached, Hyde could tell she'd also dabbed on some tantalizing fruity perfume that made him think of the apricot-and-honey preserves Mrs. Forman occasionally made. She carried a small overnight bag in one hand and her purse in the other, making him realize that she really was going to stay the night. He took her chin in his hand and kissed her sweetly. "Want to put away your bag?"

"Sure."

She followed him into his room and stopped short when she saw the little transformation the small space had undergone: He'd put a few cream-coloured candles on the dresser and there were soft-looking powder blue sheets with a down-duvet on the bed. As she set her things down, Hyde hurried over to put his lighter to the wicks of the candles and in an unseen corner, put on a record of Led Zeppelin. It wasn't so much to set the mood as to relax them both, since they were both a fan of the band.

"You did all this for me?"

Hyde shrugged; he'd have bitten off his own tongue before telling Jackie he'd gone to Donna for a little advice and she'd helped him set the stage without it looking too fruity. Glad she'd stepped out of her shoes - that way he could smell the female scent of her hair - he walked over to her, behind her so he could kiss at the nape of her neck. "I thought you'd like a little of the mushy stuff since it is our first time together." He'd also have bitten off the remainder of his tongue before he'd also tell Jackie that' he'd heard Kelso's end of the first time they'd had sex at all and decided that pornos had more atmosphere. Once again, he'd be damned if he'd let himself be lumped into the same category as Kelso in Jackie's book. Instead, he turned her into his arms and brushed his hand over her brow before kissing her with such heat that Jackie thought her earrings might melt off her ears. A low hum sounded in her throat, one of deep pleasure that had Hyde's lips curving when he moved his mouth down her jaw.

Jackie closed her eyes and let herself begin to drift. He had the most amazing mouth; every time he kissed her, it was like that first fiery liplock they'd shared. And not the one on the Formans' basement couch, but the one when they'd sat on the hood of the car on Veterans' Day listening to Leo Sayer and sharing a root beer in a take-out cup from the Hub. Every kiss since then had felt like it was a fan to the flame that had been lit that day, and now it seemed that the roof was about blow off this burning building of their physical romance. She placed her hands on his hips, pulling him close to her and letting the tips of her fingers find their way under his shirt. She dragged it over his head, then brought her hands back to the small of his back; surprisingly this was where he was possibly most sensitive, aside from the obvious other place. A little ripple of delight went through her as Hyde tugged on the hem of her tunic, sliding it up her body. Standing in her jeans and bra, she felt no urge to cover herself up, which surprised her more than a little.

Hyde felt his blood pump a little harder, a little faster, at the sight of Jackie before him. Her eyes had deepened in colour so that they were nearly black with desire, and wasn't it cool that it was his hand, his mouth that made her look that way? Turning her around, one hand on her waist, he traced one finger up her back in an S-shape, stopping at the nape of her neck. When he tasted it he heard her inhale sharply, felt the shiver go down her spine. Knowing his girlfriend, Hyde slid the straps of her bra down, moved his hands around to press against her breasts. He felt the blood pool in his lap when his thumbs brushed over the rock-hard tips of her breasts. This time, her reaction was an audible gasp as she stiffened and went a little limper in his arms. In one deft move he unclasped her bra, letting it fall to the floor, and turnning her around began to walk over to his bed.

When they tumbled onto his bed, Jackie felt a new sense of surrender. She'd thought it would be fast and hot and sweaty, not this build up of savoured anticipation. Who knew that Steven Hyde had such_..._tenderness wasn't the right word; no one would consider those taught wiry fingers that possessed her body without hesitation 'tender'. And most definitely the heroic erection she could feel under his jeans as he lay on top of her wouldn't be considered 'tender' either. Still, it was new to experience this kind of emotional levelling with a boy - man, really. Running her hands down his back, she let them rest hesistantly on his butt, making Hyde laugh.

"Jackie, grabbing my ass during foreplay isn't a felony, you know."

"I know, I'm just nervous, I guess."

"Don't be." Hyde kissed her, then began trailing his mouth down her body until he reached her breasts and closed his mouth over the right one, rolling the heated point of it with his tongue. Here was the same taste of her, the glorious honey-and-apricot scent, and the not-so-nervous-or-subtle wriggle of her hips against his. The quick jittery movement made his pulse spike, so in response, he shifted to her other breast and replaced his tongue with his thumb one the right one. When he heard her moan his name in a throaty, rusty tone, he nearly lost his mind as her delicate fingers dug in over the denim he still wore. Resting his mouth in the valley between her breasts Hyde fumbled only a little with her zipper and in one fluid motion, dragged her jeans off her legs and tossed them somewhere. When he resumed lying on top of her, he felt himself harden to iron at the dampness between her thighs. He'd done that, he knew, he'd made her that turned on, that she was all hot and slippery.

She went from lazy pleasure to impassioned heat in two seconds flat at the feeling of being nearly naked beneath Hyde. The hands that had dugged into his ass immediately went for his belt buckle, and quick as a snake, his pants ended up somewhere near hers. Now she could feel him, the full male entirety of him as he pressed into her. With more confidence than she'd had before, Jackie slid her hands under his boxers to pull him against her even harder. She didn't even both to try and tone down the sounds that escaped her lips as he continued to work his magical mouth on her breasts. She didn't noticed him pulling at her panties until she felt them slide over feet and realized that she was tugging in the same way at his boxers. When they were both naked, Jackie felt the heat morph yet again, this time in eye-crossing lust, as Hyde's mouth slid down her belly, over the length of her thigh, into the centre of the heat.

Hyde was thankful she'd stripped him down all the way; had he had to wait for any length of time to finish undressing for the main event, he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep it together, not with the way Jackie writhed under his touch. As he could feel Jackie move closer and closer to the edge of the orgasm - one of many for them tonight, he knew - he realized he was about to skip a rather important step. He raised his head to look at Jackie, whose eyes flashed annoyance since he'd stopped.

"Steven, what's wrong."

"My raincoats are in the bureau. I need to get one, so you know, we don't-"

"If you stop now, I'll kill you."

Hyde hesitated only a fraction, knowing that there was no way Jackie would have unprotected sex. Taking her at her word, he ranged himself over her and sank himself inside her, the muscles clamping over him like a vice. He saw the shock of pleasure on her face, the acceptance of him in her eyes, and when he heard that rusty moan again, began to move. One free hand found hers, the other braced on the bed as they sped towards the razor edge of pleasure, her eyes never leaving his. He heard her gasp out his name as she shuddered from the first orgasm and as he felt her tense again, this time when she trembled beneath him, Hyde closed his eyes, buried his face in her throat and let himself fly.


	3. You Really Ought Know

The next afternoon, after having spent the day with Donna and avoiding the Foremans' house Jackie finally walked down the outside stairs to the basement and wasn't surprised to find Hyde sitting on the couch, boots propped on the table, watching TV. Pursing her lips Jackie shut the door and casually wandered over to sit beside him. When he made no move to greet her - no kiss of any kind, not even a cursory nod or eyebrow flick from behind his sunglasses - Jackie felt the sinking in her stomach grow.

She'd been dreading this all day, the cold frozen treatment she knew would happen as her worst fear was realized. He'd figured it out she wasn't good at sex and now wanted nothing to do with her. She'd known that was why Kelso had gone slutting around behind her back like the whore he was, but the first dozen or so times she'd made out with Steven had maybe changed her mind. Maybe she wasn't so terrible in the sack, but now, Jackie knew better. Steven, for all his obvious flaws, was no whore like Michael, and knowing he'd never hurt her purposely, would end it rather than skank around on her.

Cautiously, Jackie laid a not-quite-steady hand on his knee and instantly felt him tense. "Hi."

"Hi."

"How are you?"

Hyde's response was as non-committal as his shrug. "Can't complain. You?"

"Fine," Jackie said in a kneejerk response. She twisted her fingers in her hands a little before relenting. "Actually I'm not fine. There's something I wanted to ask you."

"Look if it's about that stupid Days of Heaven movie, forget it, I'm not going to see it. Take Donna or Kitty or even Forman, but I ain't going."

"No, I mean...about the night we spent together last night."

Hyde shifted uncomfortably. He should have known this conversation was coming, even before they actually did the deed. Women like Jackie always came action-packed with conversations like that. "We had sex. We're both young adults and neither of us first-timers so what's the biggie?"

"I know I wasn't very good," Jackie said in a small voice; since her eyes were focused on her lap, she missed Hyde's head whipping over in shock to look at her, "so I'll understand if you want to shake me loose."

"Hold on. What do you mean not very good?"

"You know, just not good. I didn't really know what to do to...make you enjoy it."

Hyde wasn't about to tell her that the simple smell of her perfume was enough to make him enjoy it, nevermind seeing her doe-eyed and buck naked on his bed, waiting for him to...stop thinking like that so he didn't get a rather large distraction of his own while trying to understand his girlfriend's fear. "What would make you think I didn't enjoy it?"

Jackie could only shrug at this; she'd had no idea what to expect from him but certainly not this dragging out the process of a break-up. "Look, the point is Steven, I just want you to be honest with me. I wasn't very good at it last night, and that's why we only did it twice last night, and you didn't want to touch me again this morning, and why you didn't kiss me when I walked in here."

"OKay, that's it." Hyde stormed off the couch to switch off the TV, stood with his back to Jackie for a few moments so he could gather his thoughts. This was not the day-after Jackie he'd expected to deal with. The Jackie he knew was a woman who once she'd set her mind, would sooner die rather than fail in her task. But that woman was nowhere to be seen here. God help him, she looked soft and fragile. Where was his bitch on wheels? Where was the Jackie demanding that he take her to bed and rock her body like an earthquake? "Let me get this straight. We had sex twice last night that you think sucked and now you think I want to shake you loose?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"I have no intention of shaking you loose, Jackie, none at all. But dammit you're pissing me off. by insulting yourself and last night like this." Hyde caught himself before he could let something slip he'd regret and sat down beside Jackie again. "You want the truth? No, you're not the most skilled I've had, and given that you're only other real boyfriend's been Kelso, that's not too hard to understand. But you're the one who's mattered the most. You get me?"

Jackie nodded, surprised to find herself fighting back tears. It wasn't her fault, she realized that she was the way she was in bed. "You're the one who's mattered most to me, too."

Hyde kissed her then, surprised to find the pressure in his own chest dissipating from one kind of tension, only to be replaced by another. "You think I don't want you?"

"You didn't kiss me when I walked in."

"Because if I did, we'd end up waxing Mrs. Forman's floor in a way I don't think she'd have appreciated," he said, making her giggle as he kissed her again. "Jeez, just smelling you makes everything go tingly."

"Really?"

"Hell yeah, and besides," he added, pulling her to her feet, walking her back towards his room, "you know how you get better at it?"

"How?"

"Practice," he murmured, shutting the door behind them and locking it. "Lots and lots of practice."

* * *

Later, sated and satisfied, Hyde sat on the milk crate of records in the corner opposite his bed. Jackie was napping in his Led Zeppelin t-shirt while he had a joint from his stash and thought about the conversation they'd had before the afternoon delight they'd shared.

How could she have possibly thought so low of him, of their night together. Hyde had been completely honest with her about it; she wasn't the most skilled but damn, didn't she realize that vulnerability was so damn sexy? That not knowing the answer to every friggin' thing was a turn-on too? The hesitant, unsure touch of her hands, her fingertips, had been torture of the sweetest kind, one Hyde though he didn't need...or want for that matter. But he did. Not with anyone, though, just with her. And in his mind that further proved what an idiot Kelso really was. How his best buddy had managed to bag women at all remained a complete mystery.

There was something else there too. Something Hyde would have kept hidden on pain of torture and death. He'd never be able to admit it, even out loud to himself, but the night before, when he'd first slid into Jackie, the soft sweet look on her face of absolute and pure pleasure had him realizing why she mattered the most of any woman he'd been with since his first time in ninth grade.

When he looked over, saw her stirring and those dual coloured eyes eased open, focusing on him, Hyde felt his gut do a quick double bounce.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Can I have some?" she asked sleepily, referring to his joint.

"No. Can I have some?" he repeated her question, sliding a hand under the shirt to find nothing but soft skin.

"All you like, Steven."

As he rolled on top of her, Hyde could hear his own voice in his mind, completing his thought of why she mattered the most to him of anyone he'd ever met.

_But you're the one who mattered most because I'm falling in love with you_.

**FIN.**


End file.
